Study of permeability characteristics of membranes Quarterly progress report, 9 Apr. - 9 Aug. 1968

Electrochemical cell constructed to measure membrane transport propertie

Green algal infection of American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) exoskeletal structures

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 111 (2012): 90-93, doi:10.1016/j.jip.2012.06.002.Degenerative lesions in the dorsum of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) exoskeleton, eyes, arthrodial membrane, and base of the telson were documented in a population of wild caught laboratory animals. The disease can lead to loss of tissue structure and function, deformed shells, abnormal molting, loss of ocular structures, erosion of interskeletal membranes, and cardiac hemorrhage. Microscopy, histopathology, and in vitro culture confirmed the causative agent to be a green algae of the family Ulvaceae. Further research may explain how green algae overcome horseshoe crab innate immunity leading to external and internal damage.This study was supported in part by the Frederick B. Bang Fellowship and a grant from the Division of Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (P-40-RR1333-07)

Study of permeability characteristics of membranes Quarterly reports, 9 Nov. 1967 - 9 Apr. 1968

Permeability characteristics and transport properties of membranes for salt water conversion, and experiment design

Study of permeability characteristics of membranes Quarterly report, 9 May - 9 Aug. 1969

Demineralizing gear pump system with mixed bed ion exchange columns for salt and volume transport experimen

Study of permeability characteristics of membranes Quarterly report, 9 Feb. - 9 May 1969

Permeability characteristics of membrane

Blood Transfusion Reactions in Elderly Patients Hospitalized in a Multilevel Geriatric Hospital

Background/Objectives. Blood transfusion is a critical issue for patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and malignancy. However, side effects are not rare. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the frequency of adverse blood transfusion reactions in hospitalized elderly patients during a one-year period. Design/Setting/Participants. Blood transfusion reactions such as fever, chills, dyspnea, and others following blood transfusions in hospitalized geriatric patients during one-year period were examined. Results. 382 blood units (242 patients) were administered during the study period. In 40 (11%) cases, blood transfusion reactions occurred. Fever was the most common reaction in 29 cases (72%), four (10%) had shortness of breath, and 3 (8%) had vomiting and chills each. There were no lethal cases in the 24-hour period following blood transfusions. Conclusion. A relatively low rate of adverse blood transfusion reactions occurred in our geriatric patients. We may speculate that this is related to underreporting of minor symptoms due to the high percentage of demented patients in this population

The rate of the founder Jewish mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in prostate cancer patients in Israel

Inherited predisposition occurs in 5–10% of all prostate cancer (CaP) patients, but the genes involved in conferring genetic susceptibility remain largely unknown. Several lines of evidence indicate that germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 might be associated with an increased risk for CaP. Three mutations in these two genes (185delAG and 5382InsC (BRCA1) and 6174delT (BRCA2) occur in about 2.5% of the general Ashkenazi population, and the 185delAG BRCA1 mutation, in up to 1% of non-Ashkenazi Jews. In order to assess the contribution of these germline mutations to prostate cancer in Jewish Israeli patients, we tested 174 unselected prostate cancer patients (95 of Ashkenazi origin) for these mutations by PCR amplification and modified restriction enzyme digests. Patient’s age range was 45–81 years (median 66), and in 24 (14.4%) the disease was diagnosed prior to 55 years of age. Nineteen (11%) and 12 (6.9%) patients had a first or second degree relative with CaP or breast cancer, respectively. Overall, five mutation carriers were detected: 2/152 (1.3%) 185delAG, 2/104 (2%) 5382InsC, and 1/158 (0.6%) 6174delT. In all carriers, the disease was diagnosed after the age of 55, and only one of them had a family history of breast and CaP. In addition, no allelic losses at the BRCA1 locus were demonstrated in 17 patients with a family history of CaP, using seven microsatellite markers. We conclude that the rate of the predominant Jewish BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in CaP patients does not significantly differ from that of the general population, and that mutational inactivation of the BRCA1 is rare in familial CaP. Thus, germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations probably contribute little to CaP occurrence, to inherited predisposition, and to early onset disease in Jewish individuals. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Innate Signaling in Otitis Media: Pathogenesis and Recovery

Otitis media (OM) is the most prevalent childhood disease in developed countries. Involvement of innate immunity mediated by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in OM has been implicated primarily in cell lines and by association studies of innate immune gene polymorphisms with OM prevalence. However, the precise role of innate immunity in OM is incompletely understood. We review recent research that has advanced our understanding of how innate immunity in the middle ear is mediated by the interaction of pathogen molecules with receptors such as the TLRs, leading to the activation of adaptor molecules and production of proinflammatory cytokines. TLR genes and signaling molecules are upregulated in OM in a murine model. Deletion of several key innate immune genes results in persistent OM in mice, coupled with an inability to clear bacterial infection from the middle ear. It is concluded that an intact innate immune signaling system is critical to recovery from bacterial OM

Screening the PRISM Library against Staphylococcus aureus Reveals a Sesquiterpene Lactone from Liriodendron tulipifera with Inhibitory Activity

Infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus continue to pose threats to human health and put a financial burden on the healthcare system. The overuse of antibiotics has contributed to mutations leading to the emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and there is a critical need for the discovery and development of new antibiotics to evade drug-resistant bacteria. Medicinal plants have shown promise as sources of new small-molecule therapeutics with potential uses against pathogenic infections. The principal Rhode Island secondary metabolite (PRISM) library is a botanical extract library generated from specimens in the URI Youngken Medicinal Garden by upper-division undergraduate students. PRISM extracts were screened for activity against strains of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). An extract generated from the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) demonstrated growth inhibition against MSSA, and a bioassay-guided approach identified a sesquiterpene lactone, laurenobiolide, as the active constituent. Intriguingly, its isomers, tulipinolide and epi-tulipinolide, lacked potent activity against MSSA. Laurenobiolide also proved to be more potent against MSSA than the structurally similar sesquiterpene lactones, costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone. Laurenobiolide was the most abundant in the twig bark of the tulip tree, supporting the twig bark’s historical and cultural usage in poultices and teas